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My experience with International Student Exchange (ISE) has been deeply disappointing and, at times, incredibly frustrating. When we decided to open our home to an exchange student, we did so with the expectation that this would be a mutually respectful cultural experience. As host parents, we agreed to provide a safe, stable, and supportive environment, while expecting that the student would respect our household rules, values, and family dynamics. Unfortunately, that was not the reality we encountered. One of the most troubling aspects of this experience was how the authority of host parents was repeatedly undermined by ISE staff, particularly our coordinator, Ana Lise. Decisions that were made in our home for legitimate reasons were questioned and criticized without any effort to fully understand the circumstances or the context behind them. Rather than supporting us as the adults responsible for the student’s well-being, the coordinator often seemed more concerned with appeasing

Africa Classroom connection does so much good in South Africa! I have been to a couple of their events and it is so great to hear about the work they are doing and how many school rooms they have built. I have also sponsored a really fun event at our home to raise money for their organization!

Through AMIGOS, I was able to deeply engage in environmental justice work that was meaningful, community-driven, and hands-on. From trash clean-ups and seed banks to working with local organizations like the Ministry of the Environment, every moment felt purposeful. Living with a host family and forming real relationships with community members gave me a new understanding of cultural humility and connection. I wasn’t just visiting — I was learning, growing, and contributing alongside others. One of the most impactful parts for me was teaching — not just English, but connecting with students through relatable, age-appropriate lessons about the environment, identity, and our shared world. It introduced me to culturally responsive teaching before I even had the language for it. AMIGOS also gave me the confidence to lead without needing all the answers. It showed me that just being curious and committed is enough to make a difference. Years later, I’m still drawing lessons from that.

I cannot recommend this agency for hosting exchange students. I signed up to be a welcome family for the 2024 year, and was informed by the regional manager that he would be with us for 4-6 weeks before moving to his permanent host parents. However, he stayed with us from August 25th, 2024, to February 2nd, 2025, which was the first of many misleading statements made by the agency.<br><br>I was told that the student I would be hosting had already been accepted into the local high school, but I soon found out that accepted and enrolled are not the same thing. The coordinator I spoke with initially was not aware of this distinction, and I was left to navigate the school district's enrollment process on my own. The agency charges a significant amount of money to the parents of the exchange student. You would assume there would be more support but there was very little support provided during the enrollment process.<br><br>Once the student arrived, it took about two weeks to get him into his classes. I was referred to the local area coordinator, who informed me that the agency had lied about previously placing students at the specific high school near my home. The school is known to be average, but the students are typically not motivated. I was not made aware of this fact, and my biggest concern was placing a student at that school. Unfortunately, we had to move the student because he was so unhappy in his school.<br><br>At the start of my host parenting journey, the local coordinator and I got along well. However, this changed in early October when the monthly home visits stopped, and communication became scarce. I was told that home visits were required monthly by state regulation, but the last visit in November was just the coordinator picking up the student for an event and dropping him off. There were no home visits in December or January.<br><br>Another issue we had was the inaccuracy of the student's application. Based on the application, we thought we would have a lot in common. However, as we got to know our student, we found that he had misrepresented himself and put things that made him sound appealing to a host family. His hobbies included watching movies and photography, but in fact, he hated movies and did not like photography. He was also allergic to dogs, which I made clear on my application as I have four dogs.<br><br>The regional manager called me and spoke to me about these issues, including the fact that the student did not seem interested in going on outings with us. She apologized and said that our student was a "potato" because he was so boring. I was shocked that anyone would speak about a child in their care in such a way.<br><br>It seems that this organization does not care about the students and passes the blame game to everyone else. There were several times I had to ask for status updates on the student's new home, and when a new home was finally found, we were told not to say anything to him about moving. He was only informed on Thursday night that he was moving on Sunday. He didn't even have the opportunity to say goodbye to some of his friends and teachers. It broke my heart, as I had grown attached to him and tried to make him a part of our family. We still speak every week to this day, and I am glad to have met and hosted such a wonderful young man. <br><br>In conclusion, I cannot recommend this agency for hosting exchange students. The lack of support, misleading statements, and inaccurate applications are unacceptable. Additionally, the way the organization speaks about the students in their care is concerning. I hope that other families considering hosting an exchange student will consider this review and choose a more reliable and supportive agency.

Do not go to WES to get your credential evaluated. They do not update your status and after waiting patiently for a month+, after several messages sent, they do not help you or get you an answer. After you call them to find out, the customer service rep is very pathetic that they are not empowered to help the customer. They are reading exactly the same thing on the website and the best they can say is to wait. I have patiently waited a month and more, and I explained that I needed the evaluation to get the application, and running against the deadline. The poor customer service team can only listen to customers' complaints and do nothing. The entire system is a failure. There are many other credential evaluation services to choose from. I thought WES has a good rating and the school I apply for recommended also. Unfortunately this is not the case. I am still struggling to get an update....<br><br>I was just about to go file a complaint onto BBB, and found out that WES is notorious with BBB, see the screen shot from BBB website. I should have done a better research before I paid and choose their service. According to BBB, they failed to respond to 73 complaints, and 8 failed to reach a resolution. They are absolutely horrible! They don't care about customers.<br><br>* update* - a week later after I spoke to them, still no update, no one called, no email, no nothing. nothing updated in the portal. I am filing a formal complaint with New York City, and see if that will help. This organization is a serious fraud. Please beware do not choose them! My collage sent WES my credentials on Nov. 19 and it has been about two months, no updates and no way to get to anyone who can help!

As a former host family, I had a deeply challenging experience with Youth For Understanding (YFU). While the program promotes cultural exchange, its handling of student vetting, academic preparedness, and support for host families and schools raised serious concerns. <br> <br>Issues with Admissions and Language Proficiency Testing <br>The student hosted under YFU’s program demonstrated significant academic and language deficiencies that were overlooked during the admissions process: <br> <br>The student admitted to multiple failed attempts on the required English proficiency test before receiving an inflated score with alleged assistance. <br>After repeated concerns, YFU retested the student, but the process lacked impartiality, as the test was conducted by a teacher directly involved with the student. Despite three months of English immersion, the student only barely passed. YFU refused to provide the numerical score or clarity on passing standards. <br>Impact on Schools and Host Families <br>The student’s lack of preparedness created significant burdens: <br> <br>School Resources: The student required extensive ESL support, remedial courses, and interventionist assistance. Teachers lowered standards, granting full credit for incomplete or incorrect work. <br>Host Family Challenges: YFU dismissed concerns about the strain on our family, repeatedly suggesting our expectations were too high. We were told other families might "show more compassion," despite the student’s lack of effort or academic progress. <br>Broken Agreements and Manipulation <br>To minimize disruption, we offered to continue hosting the student for the semester if YFU and the biological parents agreed not to place her with another family. While YFU initially agreed, they reneged, pressuring the school to find a new host family. This shifted the burden further onto already strained resources. <br> <br>Conclusion <br>YFU’s systemic failures in vetting, testing oversight, and family support undermine the integrity of its program. Until meaningful reforms are implemented, including transparent admissions processes and improved support for schools and host families, I cannot recommend participation in this program. <br> <br>

H2 Empower is a small but mighty Nonprofit with a huge impact on children and families in Ethiopia and Burundi. Their work in education is inspiring. They provide educational materials, train teachers, build classrooms, and help bring water to these communities. Their efforts and impact on children and their communities continues to expand exponentially. I highly recommend them and their great work.

First time host parent here. And last time hosting with Nacel. This place is a nightmare. They care about the money. Not the kids period. In one conversation with Kimberly Morvig she talked trash about my host student, broke HIPPA 4 times about 4 other students and gave my personal information out to a former host family. <br>Erin asked us to do our face to face meeting at the airport at 6 am. I said no. So the meeting never happened violating DOS guidelines. I rarely got a monthly check in as they “forgot” to do it. I learned about a student that had an access and was in the er. So if that was your child… I hope he’s ok. And about a girl that got her period in school and was embarrassed. All things I should not know. Stay away. The school say nacek was the worst exchange program they had ever dealt with. I would agree. Find a different one.

Our family has hosted 9 students from 7 different countries since 2018. 7 of those students being through the EF High School Exchange Year. Sadly after our experience with this organization this past year we will no longer be hosting with EF. 
<br><br>The majority of our students we consider to be our own kids and part of our own family. We plan to travel and visit them as we are able. We continue to stay in touch after their arrival home. <br><br>The last 3 students were received from the program were absolutely unacceptable for a variety of reasons. 
<br><br>One student we hosted from Germany snubbed everything our daughter had to say to her. She cared a lot about her appearance and boys. We went on many trips with her and received no thank yous which can wear on you after awhile. We took her to Disney and the “thought the castle would be bigger.” Towards the end of the year she thought it was ok to have a boyfriend in her room with the door closed in our house. Being an only child and this being her first boyfriend her parents did not have rules or boundaries at home. She continued to ask if she could sleep at her boyfriend’s house. At the same time was failing her classes. She wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to participate in graduation until the day her parent’s showed up from Germany. Overall her pushing the boundaries with her boyfriend was embarrassing and challenging, right up to the day she went home with her parents. <br><br>We received 2 students for the 2023-2024 school year. Both did not speak any English to start off with coming from Asian countries, Korea and Japan. <br><br>The Korean student spent the entire year with us and did not speak to us. She was sent several warning letters throughout the year and EF did not send her home. It was a miserable year for everyone involved. Instead of leaving us a thank you letter when she left, she left us a card with money in it to “send her things home” which didn’t even cover a small box. She left her room a disaster that took us an entire day to clean.<br><br>The other student from Japan did want to have some interaction with us but could not understand directions or rules. This resulted in her getting in an accident resulting in a concussion 3 weeks into her exchange year before school even started. <br><br>This resulted this situation consuming our entire lives for 2 months. Driving to the hospital during her stay, arranging for her mom (who also didn’t speak English) to come to the US. Providing food, transportation and housing for the both of them. The student and the mom wanted her to stay and EF would not let her continue her exchange year against everyone’s wishes. <br><br>EF staff (a lady by the name of Amber) dealt with this situation completely unprofessionally without any compassion. This resulted in anger and emotions on our side, the student and her mom. EF forced her to return to home. After returning home and being cleared medically she requested that EF send her back to the US. The Japan office told her that she did not have host family acceptance, which was NOT the case. They told us that EF would not sponsor her visa and would also not be giving her a refund for the experience. What a total loss for everyone involved. <br><br>EF told us that they could “see what they could do” regarding the expenses and stress we endured during this time. They sent us a very very small check that didn’t even cover what we went through. <br><br>When EF “sells” these kids to American families they say they come with their own insurance, spending money and speak English. These students are a liability to families if they get hurt when you are their guardian. <br><br>If we decide to host in the future, we will be choosing a program that screens their students properly and that requires their students to pay their own way. NOT EF EXCHANGE YEAR.

This CIEE organization does not have a clear policy for their applicants . Unfortunately my fourteen year old son applied for this program and they rejected him because he was not a freshman in HS and they did mention anything about their unclear policy by the enrollment coordinator. In fact they were rush to collect funds and for my family to make a commitment to the program. <br><br>For example, the CIEE website or their terms and conditions does not indicate 8th graders or rising freshman don't qualify. One of their enrollment coordinator twisted the CIEE terms and conditions - page 27 indicating the following statement"<br> "Rising freshman are not eligible to participate. You need to complete 9th grade prior to traveling on a CIEE program". When I confronted about the misleading the CIEE never reply to my email.<br><br>Now it has been a month already and they have not refund payment after they agreed to send payment in two weeks. Please do your due diligence before making a commitment to this program - big red flags! If they have issues internally I don't want how is overseas.

I was an AFS myself many many years ago and I loved the experience. I promised that one day I was going to host students to pay back what someone did for me. When I became an adult and got married and three kids, my wife agreed that we could host. We hosted 4 AFS students and had a great experience with three of them. The irst one was from Italy and he was a great boyl the second one was from Germany and he was a bad kid who I don't know how he was chosen to be an exchange student, he drank a whole bottle of vodka and was sent back home. AFS handled this situation terribly which I won't go in detial. The third boy was from Turkey and he was a nice kid too, the fourth one was from Germany and he was the best, super nice. After those four boys, AFS continued pestering us to host more and we decide to host a kid from Norway and AFS asked us if we could host two kids at the same time. Since are own kids were grown, we had plenty of space and agreed to add a kid from Germany. That's when the nightmare started. The German boy jealous of the other boy from Norway, and because he didn't like me because of my hispanic background came up with a horrible lie saying that he felt uncomfortable around me. He wanted to leave and he got it but AFS removed both from the house and believe the lies rather than investigate and resolve the issue without conflicts. The Norwegian boy was very angry because he had to leave too. The situation escalated very bad as the boy made up horrible stories that had to be proved in court. AFS was never on our side and they were "protecting the AFS student, which I understand except that left us alone with no support and that's when I realized that AFS uses the families to make money as they charge the kids Money for the exchange but we as host families provide everything for the kids. They used us for many years and I do not have any respect for AFS anymore. I would not recommend any family to host with this organization. Last year we hosted a kid from Australia and the organization is called International Student Exchange (ISE) and we had a great experience again. They are not money makers as AFS is. So I would recommend them over AFS.

As the president of the BOD for the past year, this all volunteer organization is hard working and dedicated. With over 200+ volunteers a year supporting education in Tanzania, they rally their volunteers to truly care about education and art in Tanzania. I can't say enough

Over the years we have hosted a total of six exchange students, five of these we hosted through Ayusa. We reluctantly continued to use Ayusa because we were already established with them. However, we will not use them again. In general, our hosting exchange students has been a positive experience. However, the positive experience was despite Ayusa and simply because the majority of exchange students are serious students who want to experience the United States. After gaining more experience with how Ayusa operates, we would no longer recommend Ayusa to anyone. The main problems with Ayusa center on their true and only motive which is money. They do not properly vet exchange students which increases the risk of students that are not appropriate or ready for an exchange problem to still be accepted. Another big concern is that the pay reps that work for Ayusa receive is tied to how many students they recruit to be exchange students. We have now come across three examples of Ayusa telling complete lies to either us or our exchange students. These lies appear clearly are either because a local rep didn’t want to risk losing a placement and the nice commission that come with it or because a rep didn’t want to be bothered with looking into requested travel dates. <br> <br>The first lie we discovered was told to the family of an exchange student we hosted from Chile. The local rep in Chile told the family that if our student attended her senior year of high school that she would get a real high school diploma. That was a totally false statement that our Chilean student and her family didn’t learn the truth about until after she arrived. Her father was particularly upset about this because he never would had agreed to his daughter going in the program had he known she would still need to take her last year of high school upon returning to Chile. This lie, along with our student’s parents wanting her to return to Chile, was why she returned back to Chile after the first semester instead of completing the full year as originally planned. The only reason we can tell for Ayusa lying to that family was that the rep didn’t want to lose the commission for signing them up. <br> <br>Another lie told to both us and the family of a student we hosted from Holland concerned travel dates. What was worse about this is it was actually a regional coordinator for Ayusa that told the lie. We told this student from Holland that our County Fair was be in town and if she could arrive a few days early, she could go to that. When we approached Ayusa about her arriving a few days early, we were told “oh that’s not possible, we can’t do that”. Then about three weeks later, that same regional coordinator contacted us again telling us want a great idea it would be for this student to arrive a few days early. My wife gets the credit for immediately seeing through this. She checked the cost of the airline ticket, and saw that the date we suggested was significantly cheaper than the original date Ayusa was planning on having the student fly. As always, when it comes to Ayusa, it was all about the money, not what is best for the student. <br> <br>The third lie Ayusa told got wrapped up in a lie a French family told Ayusa when we hosted a student from France. This French girl’s profile said she didn’t want to be placed in a home with pets. Then later in the profile she said she was very allergic to cats. We have dogs, no cats. So we asked Ayusa to contact them to get clarification if the problem was just cats and if dogs would be fine. The response we got back was that the student would love being with dogs. That was a complete lie the girl’s father told Ayusa. Not only did this girl not like dogs, she had a strong fear of them. The student blamed her father for the lie. The father is who was contacted by Ayusa and asked. She said that when her father told them what he had told Ayusa, her mom and her called Ayusa and tried to clarify the situation. However, the rep there in France apparently said it would be fine and never passed on the clarification. Likely this was because the rep was more concerned about getting the commission. Out dogs are mostly inside dogs, so yes it was a big issue. In this case, initially I was not sure if our French student was telling the truth about trying to send a clarification or not. However, when considering the other lies we have seen personnel with Ayusa tell, I concluded the French family was probably telling the truth and it probably all was because of the Ayusa reps concern about losing a commission. <br> <br>This issue with dogs and our student from France is a good example of Ayusa’s sloppy vetting. Had they been more interested in achieving good placements instead of just money, this likely never would have happened. Also our student from Holland never should have been placed in an exchange program at all. She had never been away from her parents for more than a week and was way too emotionally immature to be in an exchange program. Additionally, she was too poor of a student to be in an exchange program. She dropped out of the program and returned to Holland. <br> <br>Please don’t let the negative parts of what I discussed here cause you not to host an exchange student. Even with a sloppy exchange program like Ayusa, the odds of it being a positive experience is in your favor. Over the years we hosted students from Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Chile, and Holland. For the most part it has been a great experience. The only negative parts were caused by Ayusa not properly vetting students and lying to students and their families. Your odds of having a positive experience are probably better if you use someone other than Ayusa. <br>

I agree with every review that claims how life changing it is to host a student; it truly is a rewarding experience. However, my experience with ICES has been remarkably poor and I highly recommend parents look elsewhere before entrusting this organization with the welfare and safety of their children. <br><br>We had a student from a separate exchange program and decided to take in an ICES student mid-year after learning of her situation. Her original host was an older woman who used her for free labor and barely fed her. After these allegations came up, ICES was slow in investigating and incompetent in coordinating the transition in host families. It was a stressful 2 months for us, the student, and her parents as we went back and forth with ICES unable to get documents signed, move dates set, etc... Even at the highest levels of the ICES organization, they were either unwilling or lacked the competence to handle the situation. <br><br>If we only had struggles at the coordinator level, I may not hold it against the entire organization, but we dealt with multiple supervisors and directors as well. After this experience, I will never deal with ICES again and would never entrust this organization with the welfare of my child.

I had the pleasure of interning with Yspaniola this past summer. There are so many great things to be said about this organization. Yspaniola has an incredible team made up of local and international members who all share a passion for the work they are doing.<br><br>Yspaniola works hard to make sure they are addressing the most prevalent needs in the community of Batey Libertad. This past year, they did not let the pandemic stop their literacy programming, which allowed for the students of the Batey to continue their education even when the public schools weren't operating.<br><br>I am so thankful for the time I spent in Batey Libertad and I am so excited to see what the future holds for Yspaniola and its students!

GREAT mission, GREAT team! the CLOZTALK team is honored to call this org a partner & promote its good work! <br> <br>CLOZTALK team <br>>> Jonny Imerman, co-founder

Everyone New Chapter INC in need of real estate. Anyone reading this, please support this organization exceeds and provide shelters to at-risk youth in America.

As the region’s leading wildlife and pest control firm, Critter Control specializes in solving and preventing an array of pest & wildlife problems. Our services include animal trapping, dead animal removal, nuisance wild animal control, animal capture and permanently getting rid of pests & animals in your home or office. We offer pest control and exterminator services, to get rid of most bugs including but limited to ants, spiders, roaches, termites, bees or any other insect or pest. Call us today for a free inspection. <br> <br>Website: https://crittercontrolspokane.com

I have had the pleasure of working with this foundation in a number of roles over the past ten years and cherish the experiences. As a client, I traveled with the study abroad program to Japan where I filmed Japanese gardens for the non-profit television program Oklahoma Gardening. The exchange program provided experiences unavailable to the casual traveler, such as host family stays and working alongside Japanese gardeners. In the US, I've hosted Japanese visitors and participated in gardening demonstrations at our local botanic garden and community center. I've built lasting friendships with members of the Kameoka Gardening club, the partner organization in Japan that has hosted Little Ripple participants for many years.

I have been a volunteer with this organization for 5 years, and feel that it is well run, well organized and operates with professionals! I have been a host parent, an area representative (AR) and now a volunteer and couldn't imagine doing anything else! The staff is supportive, kind, respectful and accommodating! They offer excellent training for the volunteers, they treat each applicant as though that applicant is the only one they have to care for! The level of support provided to the students while on the exchange program; be it here in the States or abroad, is outstanding! <br><br>I have been fortunate to be a flight leader on a few occasions, and have to say that the support I received to be able to carry out the assignment was superb! I cannot say enough about American Councils and the work they are doing. Changing the world with one student at a time! I enjoyed it so much that I recommended my spouse after retirement, as well as three others to help promote this organization and the important work it does!<br><br>I am excited about the upcoming school year, and look forward to seeing fellow volunteers again, and the new countries and students who will be joining us.

We really enjoyed hosting our exchange student! This is an experience I would recommend for any family!

Glad to volunteer my time for this wonderful initiative

APSA provides a meaningful space for students to grow and develop as global citizens. As the 2017 APSA Summer Program Director, I observed the transformative power of the Summer APSA experience. I not only saw students bonding as a supportive family, but each student grew individually throughout the summer as they were challenged to take risks, use language, and present themselves professionally to numerous audiences. APSA brings together a full experience for students to truly challenge themselves in addressing not only their own futures, but their role as global citizens.

What's within you is stronger than what's in your way. That's their motto and their mindset. Awesome programs.